Meet Kayla Pallace

We recently connected with Kayla Pallace and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayla, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I didn’t. I feel it pretty much every day. I kept my full time job while co-founding The Third Place for Kids (TTP), so I am also in the fun boat of getting to feel it from multiple perspectives: whether I’m parenting, doing nonprofit work, or sitting in a meeting silently Googling acronyms under the table.
What’s changed is that I’ve stopped even trying to overcome it, and I’ve started saying it out loud. So many of us feel the same way and assume we are alone in that. Like so much of what we are trying to show families at TTP, I’ve decided to leverage that feeling to create true connection and community because nothing brings people together faster than admitting you have no idea what you’re doing either. Honestly, I think everyone loves to hear that we all are kind of just winging it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m co-founder and the Chief Development Officer of The Third Place for Kids (TTP), a nonprofit sensory-focused community center for families raising neurodivergent children and children with disabilities. I also still work full-time in software, and I’m a mom. My husband is currently deployed, so frankly there’s a lot of seeing where the day takes me and keeping an endless cup of coffee in one hand.

At TTP, I focus on partnerships, resource-building, and making sure our families feel connected and supported. That means curating a network of trusted providers across everything from pediatric therapy to advocacy groups to inclusive businesses. Most of it happens over coffee, on playgrounds, or in text threads at 9 PM. It’s not just about building a list of names. It’s about finding the right people to show up for families in the ways they actually need.

One of the things I love most is getting to meet incredible humans and organizations who are already doing beautiful work. My job is to help families find them and to make those introductions feel warm and easy. When we connect someone to a provider or service, it’s because we believe in what they do and know they’ll be a good fit. That’s something our members trust us for, and I take it seriously.

We’re also building this to grow. We unexpectedly had a video of our space go viral even before we opened, and now we’re hearing from families and professionals across the country and around the world who want to bring something like this to their own communities. We’re in the early stages of figuring out how to do that, slowly and intentionally, and making sure each version is grounded in the same values.

We’ve got a lot happening right now: events, partnerships, new programming. The best way to stay in the loop is through our calendar.

And if you’re someone who wants to support this work, we’d love to hear from you. Right now, we’re especially seeking donations for our scholarship program. We offer three-month memberships to families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to access the space. We also provide fully hosted birthday parties for kids who need extra support. That means we take care of everything: pizza, cupcakes, decorations, and a private rental of the entire space. These are kids who’ve never had a party because the world isn’t designed for them. It’s one of the most meaningful things we do, and we have more families waiting than we have funds to support.

This work is personal. It’s also community-driven. We’re building something special, and we’re so grateful to do it with the people around us.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

First and foremost, I’m stubborn. I don’t have a traditional background in this space, but I saw a problem and couldn’t let it go. The problem is that most spaces still expect kids to adjust to environments that were never built with them in mind.

It’s like telling someone who needs a ramp to just walk up the stairs. That’s what so many families are navigating every single day. The world isn’t built for everyone. But it could be.

I actually tried to start something once before, and it didn’t go as planned. Then, a stranger named Casey (now my co-founder and one of the best humans I know) reached out and asked if I wanted to try again. I said yes. And I regret nothing.

Another huge part of this journey has been showing up with realness. You can build a brand all day, but if you can’t create an actual experience, if you can’t make people feel welcome or grounded or seen, it doesn’t matter. That takes more than marketing. It takes being who you say you are. That’s what builds trust.

And honestly, I believe in energy. Whether you call it karma or the universe or just being a decent person, I fully believe that the energy you put into something matters. There’s no blueprint for this. Things fall apart. Some days feel really unfair. And none of it makes sense until it suddenly does. But I’ve always trusted that if I kept showing up with care and intention, the right people and opportunities would find their way to me. And they have.

As far as advice goes, I don’t have a list. This is hard, and messy, and deeply personal. If you’re in it already, then I think you already know you can do it. You might not feel like it every day, but that doesn’t change the truth of it. Keep going. You belong in the room, even when you don’t feel like it.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Yes. We’re looking for people who believe this kind of space should exist. People who care about kids being celebrated for exactly who they are, and who want to make the world a little less overwhelming for families who are used to being left out.

Right now, we’re especially looking for support for our birthday party scholarship program. These parties are for kids who have never had one that felt like theirs. We take care of everything: pizza, cupcakes, decorations, and private access to the entire space. Families just get to show up, breathe, and celebrate their child without stress or sensory overload.

We have more families waiting than we have funding. Every party we give out is unforgettable, and we want to say yes to more. That means individual donors, recurring donors, and local partners who might want to donate food or supplies. If you’ve got a way to help, we’d love to hear it.

And if donating isn’t possible right now, sharing matters too. Like, comment, send a post to someone. We want people to know we’re here. That this kind of space is real, and it’s working.

If any of this speaks to you, email me: kayla@thethirdplaceforkids.org. I’ll give you a tour, virtually or in person. I’ll probably offer a hug, virtually or in person, and I’ll definitely try to pad it with a joke but immediately forget the punchline. And I will absolutely show you pictures of my dogs.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Kayla Yeary Photography

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